Local News - State agencies disagree on city prairie dog plan 09/20/02

Published: Friday, September 20, 2002

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State agencies disagree on city prairie dog planBy SEBASTIAN KITCHENAVALANCHE-JOURNALOne state agency may have signed off on the city's plan to oust prairie dogs from its wastewater application farm, but a sister agency does not agree with the stated problem or the solution.

In letters dated Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said they do not believe the prairie dogs are responsible for the high nitrate levels threatening groundwater at the farm.

The letters also said other management options may be more effective and the method of population control is irresponsible with the possibility of the animal being placed on the endangered species list.

"I request that you ask your staff to reconsider their recommendation and take a close look at whether prairie dogs are indeed the problem, or whether other land management alternatives might be more effective in reducing potential pollution," Robert Cook, executive director of the Parks and Wildlife Department, wrote to the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Cook said the "recommendation comes at a very sensitive time" because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has petitioned to list the prairie dogs as a threatened species.

The letters were written to two officials with the TCEQ  formerly known as the Texas Natural Resources Conserva tion Commission  which approved the city's plan to poison the prairie dogs when winter sets in.

Licensed volunteers will be allowed to save hundreds of prairie dogs before winter by removing them from the site. The plan was approved last week.

The plan to poison and blast the prairie dogs has been heavily criticized by local, state and national conservation groups. Critics say the TCEQ has no scientific basis for its decision to lower nitrate levels by controlling the prairie dog population.

In June, the TCEQ cited the city after finding high levels of nitrate that threatened to percolate 60 to 90 feet below the surface to groundwater.

Dan Dennison, Lubbock's environmental compliance manager, said he has scientific articles on his desk that state animal burrows can lead to conditions that prevent contaminants from being removed by vegetation. Some of the research was done on the High Plains by Texas Tech researchers, Dennison said.

"The plan is not to destroy, but to relocate as many as possible," he said. "Then, if we have additional animals causing problems, we can use controls."

Dennison said he had not seen the letter, but disagrees with some of the points that have been relayed to him.

He said the prairie dogs do not contaminate the groundwater, but create conditions that could lead to groundwater contamination.

The city received a notice of violation from TCEQ stating that the animals needed to be controlled for the city to comply with its groundwater remediation program.

Carol Batterton, spokeswoman for TCEQ, said the agency is not going to comment at this time because the executive director is out of the office and has not seen the letter.

The recent letters to TCEQ officials state that other factors were not taken into consideration, including cattle grazing and wintering geese.

"The blame for lack of compliance with the groundwater remediation program is being placed solely on the prairie dogs when other factors may be contributing as well," Cook wrote.

He said the city has "expressed its concern that eliminating prairie dogs from the site may not be the answer to their noncompliance problem."

Dennison said "no one has said the prairie dogs were the only issue." He said there are several issues at the site.

"You can herd cattle and you can chase geese off, but the prairie dogs are stationary other than moving in on new territory," he said.

Cook said his agency's opinion is the animals are creating a problem in the center pivot area, but "do not pose a problem to groundwater remediation in areas outside of the center pivots."

He said removal of prairie dogs and stoppage of grazing in the center pivot areas and changes in the site's crop and harvest "might resolve the problem."

"We don't believe removing all prairie dogs as proposed in the city of Lubbock's action plan to TCEQ is necessary," he wrote.

Estimates have counted as many as 50,000 of the animals on the 750 acres east of Loop 289.

The letters suggest fencing and planting visual barriers to control the animals' migration.

Dennison said visual barriers, concrete and mesh wire are ineffective. Those measures have been attempted at Lubbock's Prairie Dog Town at Mackenzie Park unsuccessfully.

Cook requested that the TCEQ staff take more time and consider all factors, and he offered the expertise and staff time of his agency.

"It is imperative that Texas state agencies prove that we can work together cooperatively ... and with private landowners to prevent this species from becoming listed as an endangered species," Cook wrote.

Cook and the other letter writer, Wildlife Diversity Branch Chief John Herron, say they are disappointed that TCEQ did not address Parks and Wildlife concerns that were voiced in a June meeting between the two agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"After that meeting, TCEQ admitted having no evidence that prairie dogs were creating the problem at the (Lubbock Land Application Site)," Herron wrote.

Dennison said dealing with the prairie dogs will be more difficult if they are placed on the endangered species list because the city will have to gain permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service each time they need to deal with the animals.

He said the city releases 8 million gallons of water a day at the farm and will not be able to wait for permission, if it is even granted, to deal with the prairie dogs in the future.

"We can't turn management of our farm over to another agency," Dennison said.

He said the plan is actually helping the prairie dogs by creating more colonies.